Word of mouth: How upward social comparisons influence the sharing of consumption experiences

Abstract

An outcome of upward social comparisons that has been largely overlooked is its effect on non-transactional behaviours (i.e., word of mouth). Previous research has identified three different emotional reactions to upward social comparisons: admiration, benign envy and malicious envy. Despite the fact that their effect on consumption has been previously analysed, it remains unclear how these reactions affect word of mouth intention. This study carries out an experimental design that demonstrates that admiration and benign envy positively influence word of mouth behaviour. However, there is no effect of malicious envy on such disposition. The results are sustained under different cultural contexts. The findings shed light on the drivers of word of mouth. They offer guidance to companies for developing more effective strategies to encourage both brand message sharing and consumer-to-consumer sharing of consumption experiences.

Others' fortune in online vs offline settings: how envy affects people's intention to share information

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Obese customers’ fitness goal disclosure on social media: exploring weight-loss image sharing on emotions and healthy lifestyle aspirations

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The relationship between cyber upward social comparison and cyberbullying behaviors: A moderated mediating model

“…It is a common psychological mechanism for individuals to implement unethical behaviors and corrupt behaviors ( Yang et al, 2010a ). The cyber upward social comparison makes people focus on their own shortcomings and produces lower self-assessment, which leads to more negative emotions and more unethical behaviors ( Li, 2018 ; Suárez Vázquez et al, 2021 ). A large number of studies have also confirmed this notion ( Walker et al, 2017 ).…”